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Politics of North Korea

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  1. Introduction
  2.  
  3. Today North Korea is perhaps the world’s most closed country whose totalitarian political system is built on a family dynastic succession. Founded in 1948, the politics of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) or North Korea has been shaped by a constant interplay between the external security environment on the one hand, and political dynamics internal to its own history, culture, and society on the other hand. The Korean independence movement against Japanese colonialism (1910–1945), the division following the occupation by the American and Soviet forces, and the Korean War (1950–1953) are important historical experiences behind North Korean nation building. Despite predictions of the regime collapse, North Korea is one of the few remaining communist regimes after the end of the Cold War. With the cessation of Soviet aid in 1990, however, North Korea has suffered from a near-bankrupt national economy and despite the need for economic reform, has refused to contemplate significant opening. This self-imposed isolation still has not shielded the regime from a steady inflow of information from the outside world. Four major themes characterize post–Cold War North Korean politics. First, under the banner of the Military First (Songun) policy, Pyongyang’s nuclear program has become tied to the regime survival in the last twenty years. North Korea declared itself to be a nuclear power in 2005 and the international negotiations aimed at denuclearizing North Korea have yielded modest mixed results. Second, the ideology of Juche (self-reliance) has been a central theme in the domestic political process of building and consolidating the North Korean regime of a one-man rule since the Kim Il-Sung era. A third theme is the dilemma of North Korean economic reforms toward marketization. Pyongyang has tried a few measures of market economy to attract foreign investments, but remains extremely wary of the social and political ramifications of such steps. Fourth, in 2012 the future of North Korea is at a crossroads after the death of Kim Jong-Il in December 2011 and the generational succession to his young son Kim Jong-Un.
  4.  
  5. General Overviews
  6.  
  7. The literature that informs North Korean politics generally tends to cover both Koreas in a single publication given their intertwined modern history. More recent works have looked specifically at North Korea’s post–Cold War predicament. Oberdorfer 2001, Cumings 2005, and Robinson 2007 offer an excellent historical overview of Korean politics. They all rightly highlight the importance of collective historical experiences such as the Japanese colonialism, the occupation, the division and the Korean War in shaping their national politics. Kihl 1984, Kim 1998, and Yang 1999 offer a comprehensive overview of the political systems of the two Koreas to readers who wish to grasp some basic understanding of North Korea in comparison with South Korea. Most recently, there have been works that could serve as texts on the specific topic of North Korean politics aside from the aforementioned books on modern history. McEachern 2010 offers a comprehensive assessment of the North Korean regime from an institutional perspective. Cha 2012 is the first scholarly and public policy book on North Korea published after the death of Kim Jong-il.
  8.  
  9. Cha, Victor D. The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future. New York: HarperCollins Ecco, 2012.
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  11. The first published work on North Korea after the death of Kim Jong-il. Argues controversially the regime is under dual stresses that it ultimately cannot manage: A post–Kim Jong-il leadership that adheres to conservative Juche (self-reliance) ideals, and a society that has grown more independent with an emerging market mentality.
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  13. Cumings, Bruce. Korea’s Place in the Sun: A Modern History. Updated ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005.
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  15. A historical overview of Korean politics. Using original English and Korean archives, the chapters are dense with details but are very informative.
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  17. Kihl, Young Hwan. Politics and Policies in Divided Korea: Regimes in Contest. Boulder, CO, and London: Westview, 1984.
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  19. Offers a general overview of North Korean political system until the early 1980s juxtaposed with South Korean system in a comparative manner. Useful for a basic understanding of how the two countries have developed distinctively different political systems.
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  21. Kim, Ilpyong J., ed. Two Koreas in Transition: Implications for U.S. Policy. Rockville, MD: In Depth, 1998.
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  23. Views North Korean politics through the lens of US foreign policy. The chapters were written by prominent Korea scholars from various political and ideological angles and can be of use to provide an overview of the various themes of Korean politics.
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  25. McEachern, Patrick. Inside the Red Box: North Korea’s Post-Totalitarian Politics. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010.
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  27. Challenges the conventional view that the North Korean political system is entirely under control of one man and argues instead that it has transitioned into a posttotalitarian stage where policies are drawn based upon pluralism among institutions.
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  29. Oberdorfer, Don. The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History. Rev. and updated ed. New York: Basic Books, 2001.
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  31. One of the most authoritative journalistic accounts on Korean politics. Insights gained by Oberdorfer’s own reporting in the region and numerous interviews with high-level officials who were directly involved in important critical junctures. Succinct and interesting for both students and researchers.
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  33. Robinson, Michael. Korea’s Twentieth-Century Odyssey: A Short History. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2007.
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  35. An exceptionally comprehensive and succinct overview of Korea’s modern political history. Can be used as a college textbook for its balanced historical interpretations. Builds upon prior historical research on the two Koreas while providing a dense and yet illuminating reconstruct of important events.
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  37. Yang, Sung-Chul. The North and South Korean Political Systems: A Comparative Analysis. Rev. ed. Elizabeth, NJ: Hollym, 1999.
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  39. Written by a professor and former South Korean ambassador to the United States, this voluminous work provides a full political history of the two systems. Encyclopedic in scope.
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  41. Journals
  42.  
  43. Some of the most informative articles on North Korea are found in the few well-established academic journals that focus on Asia. Asian Survey publishes yearly updates on North Korea as well as articles that shed light on various aspects of the country’s politics and foreign relations. Both Pacific Affairs and Journal of East Asian Studies print high-quality research articles. The first English-language journal that is solely devoted to North Korean studies is North Korean Review. The Korean Journal of Defense Analysis features articles on defense and foreign policy issues of the two Koreas and their neighbors. The International Journal of Korean Unification Studies focuses on the theme of Korean unification and is useful for those who are interested in security issues. Hyundae bukhan yongu (North Korean Studies Review) and Tongil Chungchak Yongu (Korean Unification Policy Studies) are Korean-language journals that provide researchers with timely analyses on North Korea and the topic of Korean unification.
  44.  
  45. Asian Survey. 1961–.
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  47. Published bimonthly. Publishes scholarly articles that examine domestic politics, financial and economic institutions as well as international relations of South, Southeast and East Asian countries.
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  49. Hyundae bukhan yongu (North Korean Studies Review). 1998–.
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  51. Published three times a year by the University of North Korean Studies, this Korean-language journal publishes high-quality research articles that shed light on various aspects of North Korean politics, economy and foreign relations. Articles are available for download.
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  53. International Journal of Korean Unification Studies. 1992–.
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  55. Formerly Korean Journal of National Unification, the journal is of particular value to those who study the topic of Korean unification. Published by Korea Institute for National Unification. Articles are available for download.
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  57. Journal of East Asian Studies. 2001–.
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  59. Published bimonthly. Publishes social science research on politics, culture, society, democracy and security relations of China, Japan, the two Koreas, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia.
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  61. Korean Journal of Defense Analysis. 1989–.
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  63. Published four times a year by the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis (KIDA), the journal is a useful source for those who are interested in East Asian security, especially the Korean peninsula.
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  65. North Korean Review. 2004–.
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  67. The first academic journal published in North American and Europe that is entirely dedicated to North Korea. Published semi-annually.
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  69. Pacific Affairs. 1928–.
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  71. A quarterly that publishes interdisciplinary Asia-Pacific area studies. Committed to publish analytically rigorous and empirically rich research.
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  73. Tongil Chungchak Yongu. 1992–.
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  75. “Korean unification policy studies.” Twice a year, the journal features articles that focus on North Korea, inter-Korean relations, and Korean unification policy. Published by Korea Institute for National Unification.
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  77. Review Essays
  78.  
  79. Armstrong 2011 and Kang 2011–2012 are useful articles on the state of the field for the study on North Korea and offer suggestions for future research.
  80.  
  81. Armstrong, Charles K. “Trends in The Study of North Korea.” Journal of Asian Studies 70 (2011): 357–371.
  82. DOI: 10.1017/S0021911811000027Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  83. A highly relevant piece to have a sense of the current status of North Korean studies. Introduces recent works on North Korea ranging from scholarly books and films to refugee testimony-based works. Suggests scholars using the newly available data from former communist countries as well as refugee surveys for future research.
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  85. Kang, David C. “They Think They’re Normal: Enduring Questions and New Research on North Korea—A Review Essay.” International Security 36 (2011–2012): 142–171.
  86. DOI: 10.1162/ISEC_a_00068Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  87. An excellent review essay of three recent books on North Korea. Provides the author’s expert analysis of North Korea along the themes of the books—domestic political institutions, political economy, and the lives of the North Korean people.
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  89. Primary Sources
  90.  
  91. There are only a handful of primary sources available on North Korea. However, Kim Il-sŏng 1980, Kim Il-sŏng 1967–1987, and Kim Chŏng-il 1992 contain the two North Korean leaders’ speeches, letters, treatises, commemorative messages, announcements, and orders. Along with Kim Il-Sung’s memoir (Kim Il-sŏng 1992), these multivolume books serve as important sources for North Korean studies researchers. For more contemporary primary sources, Korean Central News Agency of DPRK is available online featuring North Korea’s official daily news. The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars has an ongoing North Korea International Documentation Project, which offers valuable primary sources that are newly declassified from former communist countries. The National Committee on North Korea website lists the documents pertinent to the Six- Party Talks.
  92.  
  93. Kim Il-sŏng. Kim Il-sŏng chŏjak sŏnjip. 9 vols. Pyongyang, North Korea: Chosŏn Nodongdang Ch’ulp’ansa, 1967–1987.
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  95. “Selected works of Kim Il-Sung.” A total of nine volumes feature 202 writings of Kim Il-Sung between 1945 and 1986.
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  97. Kim Il-sŏng. Kim Il Sung: Works. Pyongyang, North Korea: Foreign Languages, 1980.
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  99. An English translation of Kim Il-Sung’s works originally published from 1979. The original Korean-language chojakjip comprehensively covers the periods between 1930 and 1984 featuring 1,228 writings.
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  101. Kim Il-sŏng. Segi wa tŏburŏ. Pyongyang, North Korea: Chosŏn Nodongdang, 1992.
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  103. “Together with the century.” Kim Il-Sung’s multivolume memoir. The themes range from his early childhood to the resistance movements. North Korean authorities have distributed these books to the public as an exemplary of the revolutionary struggle and life. An important source of understanding North Korean ways of thinking and the propaganda.
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  105. Kim Chŏng-il. Selected Works. Pyongyang, North Korea: Foreign Languages, 1992.
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  107. Originally published by Choson Nodongdang, this Kim Chŏng-il sŏnjip is a collection of his speeches, treatises, letters, announcements, and orders by Kim Jong-Il.
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  109. Korean Central News Agency of DPRK.
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  111. Features daily official news articles of North Korea.
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  113. Six Party Talks Archive. National Committee on North Korea.
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  115. The website lists the documents related to the Six-Party Talks.
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  117. Wilson Center North Korea International Documentation Project.
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  119. This project translates newly declassified primary documents on North Korea from former communist countries. Available in English online.
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  121. Data Sources
  122.  
  123. There are useful data sources available online from various institutions. Ministry of Unification, the Republic of Korea has a number of data including Unification White Papers. Information Center on North Korea offers researchers important North Korea–related documents in its website. Korea Institute for National Unification and the University of North Korean Studies are among the most prominent institutes when it comes to the question of Korean unification in South Korea.
  124.  
  125. Information Center on North Korea.
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  127. The website on Information Center on North Korea has a large amount of data including North Korea’s legal documents, North Korea’s major figures, governmental institutions, and comparisons of Korean languages in the two Koreas.
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  129. Korea Institute for National Unification.
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  131. The website features policy reports and journal articles on North Korea.
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  133. Ministry of Unification, the Republic of Korea.
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  135. The website provides a number of useful data, such as white papers, as well as statistics on inter-Korean dialogue. Available in English.
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  137. University of North Korean Studies.
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  139. The website provides many downloadable policy reports and articles on North Korea. The University houses one of the most prominent Korean-language journals on North Korea, North Korean Studies Review.
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  141. The Genesis of Communist North Korea
  142.  
  143. In order to understand North Korean state formation, it is necessary to examine Korean communism in conjunction with anti-Japanese guerilla movements of early Korean communists. There are books that use rigorous archival research despite a limited data availability elucidating the early years of North Korea’s state building. Suh 1967 is a pioneering work in the study of Korean communism and North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung. Suh 1970 is a collection of translated primary documents on the topic of early Korean communist movement. Scalapino and Lee 1972 lay the groundwork on the study of Korean communism for later researchers. Nam 1974 focuses on the early years of power struggle among the North Korean communist factions.
  144.  
  145. Nam, Koon Woo. The North Korean Communist Leadership, 1945–1965: A Study of Factionalism and Political Consolidation. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. 1974.
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  147. Examines the early years of power struggle among the North Korean communist factions in the postliberation period and discusses the resulting emergence of North Korean leadership after the bitter power struggle in 1961.
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  149. Scalapino, Robert, and Chong-Sik Lee. Communism in Korea. 2 vols. Berkeley and London: University of California Press, 1972
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  151. A classic work. One of the most extensive, authoritative and detailed researches on the origins and evolution of the North Korean communist system. Addresses Kim Il-Sung’s rise to power, ideology, foreign relations, the political elite, the party, the military, and the economic policies. Offers an insight into Koreanization of communism.
  152. Find this resource:
  153. Suh, Dae-Sook. The Korean Communist Movement, 1918–1948. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1967.
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  155. A pioneering, seminal work on the early communist movement in Korea. Challenges the conventional view that Kim Il-Sung represents the revolutionary past of Korean communism and argues Kim did not advance through the early Korean communist revolutionary movement. Describes power struggles among communist factions and Kim Il-Sung’s consolidation of power.
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  157. Suh, Dae-Sook. Documents of Korean Communism 1918–1948. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1970.
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  159. Presents a collection of documents that are crucial in understanding the Korean communist movement between 1918 and 1948. The author selects, translates and compiles sixty-six documents in a book based on their contextual importance.
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  161. The Role of the Soviet Union
  162.  
  163. After more primary archives became available from former communist countries, Lankov 2002 and Szalontai 2005 examine the role that the Soviet Union played in the formation of North Korea in its early years. Armstrong 2003 uses the documents that the US forces collected during the Korean War and show that North Korean state-building was importantly shaped by indigenous forces rather than being merely influenced by the Soviet Union.
  164.  
  165. Armstrong, Charles. The North Korean Revolution, 1945–1950. Ithaca, NY, and London: Cornell University Press, 2003.
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  167. An important work that examines the North Korean revolution between the 1945 liberation and the Korean War in 1950. Argues the North Korean revolution was shaped by indigenous forces rather than merely imposed by the Soviet occupation forces.
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  169. Lankov, Andrei. From Stalin to Kim Il Sung: The Formation of North Korea, 1945–1960. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2002.
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  171. Based on the Soviet archives, Lankov offers insights on the role that the Soviet Union played in the early formative years of the North Korean state. Examines Kim Il-Sung’s political life and the emergence of the Soviet faction in North Korea.
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  173. Szalontai, Balázs. Kim Il Sung in the Khrushchev Era: Soviet-DPRK Relations and the Roots of North Korean Despotism, 1953–1964. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center, 2005.
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  175. A valuable account on the often-ignored period of North Korea’s post–Korean War reconstruction during which Kim Il-Sung consolidated a regime centered on one-man rule, a self-reliant economy as well as a controlled society. Uses declassified Hungarian archives made available recently.
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  177. The Korean War
  178.  
  179. The scholarship on the Korean War is an area of Korean studies where scholars from the different fields, not just political science, but history and anthropology as well, engage in lively debates with regards to its origins and the nature of the conflict. The so-called revisionist scholarship represented by Cumings 1983, Cumings 1990, and Cumings 2005 (cited in General Overviews), counters the conventional view that the Korean War was started by North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung and puts forward a civil war origin of the Korean War. The release of Soviet and Chinese documents more recently tends to confirm the conventional view. Goncharov, et al. 1993, based on Soviet and Chinese archives, highlights the great power politics between Moscow and Beijing and argue the Korean War was initiated by the Soviet Union, China, and North Korea consequently. Stueck 2002 synthesizes these differing views by arguing that both internal and external forces were important considerations. Stueck 1995 casts a new light on the Korean War by emphasizing the international nature of the conflict. Millett 2008 provides a highly useful account on a fifty-year historiography of the Korean War while Grey 2004 offers a review article of nineteen works on the Korean War. Kang 2003 is a rare attempt to examine the Korean War in view of contributing to international relations theory.
  180.  
  181. Cumings, Bruce, ed. Child of Conflict: The Korean-American Relationship, 1943–1953. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1983.
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  183. An edited volume with various chapters that shed light on American policy toward Korea between 1943 and 1953. Discusses the US postwar trusteeships over Korea between 1943 and 1953, and containment and rollback in 1950 with the Korean War.
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  185. Cumings, Bruce. The Origins of the Korean War. 2 vols. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990.
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  187. The Korean War as a civil, revolutionary war rather than a great power confrontation. Cumings’s view that the border fighting that led to the war might have been initiated by south Korean forces is now defunct. Subsequent studies show Kim Il-Sung did start the war supported by the Soviet Union.
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  189. Goncharov, Sergei N., John W. Lewis, and Xue Litai. Uncertain Partners: Stalin, Mao, and the Korean War. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1993.
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  191. The first book written jointly by Russian, American and Chinese authors using the Soviet and Chinese archives as well as interviews. Examines the Soviet-Chinese relations in the 1940s and 1950s and argues the Korean War was indeed started by the North through high-level contacts among Stalin, Mao, and Kim.
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  193. Grey, Jeffrey. “Review Article: The Korean War.” Journal of Contemporary History 39 (2004): 667–676.
  194. DOI: 10.1177/0022009404046787Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  195. A review article that examines a number of works covering the Korean War. Useful for those who want to seek a comprehensive assessment of the Korean War scholarship.
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  197. Kang, David. “International Relations Theory and the Second Korean War.” International Studies Quarterly 47 (2003): 301–324.
  198. DOI: 10.1111/1468-2478.4703001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  199. A rare treatment of the Korean War from the perspective of international relations theory. Argues the popular notion that a second Korean War is around the corner stems from mis-specified assumptions of theories of conflict.
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  201. Millett, Allan. “The Korean War: A 50-Year Critical Historiography.” Journal of Strategic Studies 24.1 (2008): 188–244.
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  203. A journal article that offers a historiography of the Korean War for the past fifty years touching upon various issue areas of the conflict. Assesses that an overall understanding on the Korean War has improved with more nuances added over the years.
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  205. Stueck, William. The Korean War: An International History. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995.
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  207. Provides a seminal account on the international and multilateral nature of the Korean War. Discusses how not only the United States and China, but also the Soviet Union, Japan, and other UN member states took part in the war. Examines the role of the United Nations in the conflict.
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  209. Stueck, William. Rethinking the Korean War: A New Diplomatic and Strategic History. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002.
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  211. Provides issue-oriented interpretations on the major diplomatic, political, and strategic issues of the Korean War and presents a synthetic argument that the origins of the war should consider both external forces of great power interests and internal forces of Korean leaders’ influence on great power allies.
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  213. The United States
  214.  
  215. Another thread of the Korean War literature focuses on domestic debates within the United States about the war. Some of the earliest journalistic works on the Korean War such as Oliver 1950, Stone 1952, and Vatcher 1958 analyze the conflict through the lens of great power politics as part of the Cold War rivalry context. More scholarly works including Spanier 1959 and Rees 1964 highlight the Korean War from US domestic and foreign policy perspectives. In particular, Foot 1985 and Higgins 1960 focus on General Douglas MacArthur’s proposed retaliatory action in China during the Korean War.
  216.  
  217. Foot, Rosemary. The Wrong War: American Policy and the Dimensions of the Korean Conflict, 1950–1953. Ithaca, NY, and London: Cornell University Press, 1985.
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  219. Focuses on the policy debate within the United States regarding MacArthur’s proposed retaliatory action in China during the Korean War. Argues that the Korean War was a major turning point in American strategic thinking during the Cold War.
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  221. Higgins, Trumbull. Korea and the Fall of MacArthur: A Précis in Limited War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1960.
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  223. Joins the scholarship on the Korean War that examines the controversy over the dismissal of General MacArthur by President Truman. A book more about US foreign policy than on North Korea.
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  225. Oliver, Robert T. Why War Came in Korea. New York: Fordham University Press, 1950.
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  227. One of the early works on “the Korean question” that offers a journalistic account on circumstances leading up to the outbreak of the Korean War through the lens of great power politics surrounding the peninsula
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  229. Rees, David. Korea: The Limited War. London and New York: St. Martin’s, 1964.
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  231. One of the classics on the Korean War and American foreign policy. Depicts the Truman administration’s decision during the course of the conflict and the war’s unpopularity among American public through the notion of a limited war.
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  233. Spanier, John. The Truman-MacArthur Controversy and the Korean War. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1959.
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  235. An in-depth analysis of the Truman-MacArthur controversy in the context of civil-military relations in a limited war situation. The Korean War case and MacArthur’s dismissal by Truman demonstrate how the principle of civilian control over the military is less compatible in a limited war due to American liberalism.
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  237. Stone, I. F. The Hidden History of the Korean War. New York and London: Monthly Review, 1952.
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  239. One of the early attempts at studying the origins of the Korean War. Published in the midst of the Korean War, the journalist author challenges the then official picture portrayed by American media that the war was the result of an unprovoked, surprise attack by North Korea.
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  241. Vatcher, William H. Panmunjom: The Story of the Korean Military Armistice Negotiations. New York: Praeger, 1958.
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  243. Written by a member of the armistice negotiation team, the Psychological Warfare Adviser to the Senior United Nations Delegate, Vatcher offers detailed illustrations of what transpired at the negotiations leading to the truce in 1953.
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  245. North Korean Leaders and the Juche Ideology
  246.  
  247. Although there are many, sometimes sensational, journalistic accounts on North Korean leaders especially since the 1990s (such as Fujimoto 2004), very few scholarly works exist on this topic of North Korean leaders due to the problem with data collection. Against this backdrop, Suh 1988 sets the tone for future studies on the North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung while Martin 2004 is an exhaustive examination of North Korean political history through Kim Il-Sung and his son Kim Jong-Il that offers detailed narratives on North Korean politics, society, and culture. Some of the primary works written by Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il themselves are of particular importance in understanding how these leaders have established North Korean ways of political life centered on the idea of Juche. Kim 1974, Kim 1972, and Kim 1982 all show that the Juche ideology has been constructed to be the dominant ideological force in North Korean politics through the evolutionary process, interacting with the country’s internal and external political environments; from Kim Il-Sung’s declaration of North Korean adaptation of Marxism-Leninism in 1955 to Kim Jong-Il’s more systemic theorizing of Juche during the succession in the 1980s. Chang 1999 is a seminal article that examines how North Korean leaders used the vision of Juche as an integral part of political process in North Korea ranging from populist politics and the military to the party. Park 2002 is a more comprehensive study on North Korean leaders’ use of the Juche ideology.
  248.  
  249. Chang Dal-Jung. “Kimjongil cheje wa juche bijeon: Ideology, dang, gurigo gunjung ul chungsim uro.” Journal of Asiatic Studies 42 (1999): 229–277.
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  251. “The Kim Jong-Il regime and the Juche vision: Ideology, party and the mass.” Examines the relationship between the Juche ideology and the Kim Jung-Il regime consolidation. A good account of how Juche has been an integral part of North Korean political process since the Kim Il-Sung era including populist politics, party, and the military.
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  253. Fujimoto, Kenji. “I Was Kim Jong Il’s Cook.” Atlantic Monthly 293 (2004): 107–108.
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  255. Given the secrecy of the life of top North Korean leaders, this short piece written by a Japanese who used to be Kim Jong-Il’s cook is worth noting. The excerpts from Kim Jong Il’s chef (金正日の料理人—間近で見た権力者の素顔, Tokyo: Fuso, 2003) originally published in Japanese.
  256. Find this resource:
  257. Kim, Il-Sung. Uri dang ui juche sasang gwa hongwhaguk cheongbu ui daenaeoe chungchak ui myutgaji munje e daehayeo: Ilbon "Mainitchi Sinbung" kijadŭl i chegihan chilmun e taehan taedap 1972-yŏn 9-wŏl 17-il. Pyongyang: Chae Ilbon Chosŏnin Ch’ong Yŏnhaphoe Chungang Sangim Wiwŏnhoe, 1972.
  258. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  259. “On questions about our party’s Juche ideology and internal and external policies of the republic: Answers to the Questions Raised by Japanese Daily Mainichi Reporters on September 17, 1972.” Kim Il-Sung’s interview with Japan’s daily Mainichi Shimbun on 17 September 1972. Advocates the importance of “socio-political life (saheo chungchi juk sangmyung)” over “physical life (ukche juk sannmyung).”
  260. Find this resource:
  261. Kim Il-Sung. Sasang saup eseo gyojojuui wa hyungsik juuirl teochigago jucherl hwapril halde dehayeo. Pyongyang, North Korea: Choson Nodongdang Ch’ulp’ansa, 1974.
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  263. “On rebuking dogmatism and formalism in an ideology undertaking and establishing Juche.” Kim Il-Sung’s address on 28 December 1955 just after the Korean War. Emphasizes the importance of adapting Marxism-Leninism to suit the North Korean context.
  264. Find this resource:
  265. Kim, Jong-Il. Juche sasang e daehayeo: Chuch’e sasang e taehayŏ: Widaehan suryŏng Kim Il-sŏng Tongji t’ansaeng 70-tol kinyŏm chŏn’guk chuch’e sasang t’oronhoe e ponaen nonmun, 1982-yŏn 3-wŏl 31-il. Pyongyang, North Korea: Choson Nodongdang Ch’ulp’ansa, 1982.
  266. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  267. “On Juche: A Thesis Submitted to National Conference for Discussing Juche Ideology In Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of Great Leader Kim Il-Sung’s Birth.” One of the first treatises of Kim Jong-Il published in 1982. Important because it was meant to establish Kim Jong-Il as Kim Il-Sung’s successor, a talented theorist of the Juche ideology.
  268. Find this resource:
  269. Martin, Bradley K. Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2004.
  270. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  271. Provides a detailed, multifaceted picture on the history and politics of North Korea while tracing the life of Kim Il-Sung and his son Kim Jong-Il with critical eyes on their propaganda. Relies on defector interviews as well as secondary literature and the author’s visit to Pyongyang.
  272. Find this resource:
  273. Park, Han S. North Korea: The Politics of Unconventional Wisdom. Boulder, CO: Lynne Reiner, 2002.
  274. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  275. A comprehensive study of the leadership and its use of Juche ideology by an expert on the topic.
  276. Find this resource:
  277. Suh, Dae-Sook. Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988.
  278. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  279. A classic work. Offers original insights on North Korean politics by studying Kim Il Sung’s life. Based on an exhaustive archival research on Kim, Suh examines his revolutionary past, domestic power struggle, the Korean War, relations with the Soviets and the Chinese, and Kim’s political thought among others.
  280. Find this resource:
  281. Political Institutions
  282.  
  283. Given the extreme difficulty of accessing relevant data, there are very few works that provide insights on the key institutions of North Korean politics. Lee 1995 is a rigorous and comprehensive study on the Korean Workers’ Party based on the analysis of Nodong Sinmun articles over several decades, while Lee 1978 provides a useful overview of the party. Minnich 2005 investigates the early years of the North Korean People’s Army. More recently, Gause 2006 provides a policy-relevant analysis on the dynamics between the party and the military under Kim Jong-Il’s Military First Policy. Bermudez 1998 and Bermudez 2001 are important contributions to the literature by providing detailed analyses of the Korean People’s Army. Koh 2005 is an analysis of North Korean command structure. Kim 1975 is a more comprehensive treatment of the North Korean political system and institutions.
  284.  
  285. Bermudez, Joseph S. North Korean Special Forces. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1998.
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  287. Focuses on the Korean People’s Army’s special purposes forces. Uses interviews with defectors and the data from various intelligence agencies.
  288. Find this resource:
  289. Bermudez, Joseph S. The Armed Forces of North Korea. London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2001.
  290. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  291. Written by one of the foremost experts on the North Korean military, the book gives detailed analyses of the Korean People’s Army.
  292. Find this resource:
  293. Gause, Ken. North Korean Civil-Military Trends: Military-First Politics to a Point. Washington, DC: Strategic Studies Institute, 2006.
  294. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  295. A policy paper that provides an analysis of North Korean power structure and the top leadership and discusses the shift of influence from the party to the military under the leadership of Kim Jong-Il.
  296. Find this resource:
  297. Kim, Ilpyong J. Communist Politics in North Korea. New York: Praeger, 1975.
  298. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  299. Written in 1970s, this book is one of the rare accounts of the North Korean political system with chapters that discuss the nature of the system, leadership structure and political culture, mass mobilization, and disputes over development strategies.
  300. Find this resource:
  301. Koh, Jae-Hong. “Bukhangun ui bisangsi, pyungsi gunsa jiwhi chegye yongu.” Korean Unification Policy Studies 14 (2005): 129–152.
  302. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  303. “Study on the command structure of the North Korean army in war and peace times.” A brief introduction to the North Korean army’s command structure in war and peace times.
  304. Find this resource:
  305. Lee, Chong-Sik. Korean Workers’ Party: A Short History. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1978.
  306. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  307. Building on earlier works on the Korean communist movement, the monograph offers an interpretive history of the Korean Worker’s Party.
  308. Find this resource:
  309. Lee, Jong-Seok. Choson Rodongdang Yongu. Seoul, South Korea: Yoksa Bipyungsa, 1995.
  310. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  311. “Study on the Workers’ Party of North Korea.” A seminal work on the Workers’ Party of Korea based on the author’s content analyses of North Korean official newspaper Nodong Sinmun. Included are the themes of the Juche ideology, the structure of the party, the transformation process of the party structure, and the internal conflicts within the party among other specific topics.
  312. Find this resource:
  313. Minnich, James. The North Korean People’s Army: Origins and Current Tactics. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2005.
  314. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  315. Examines the North Korean People’s Army with a focus on the historical context of its establishment, its organization, Soviet and Chinese influences, and the current tactics.
  316. Find this resource:
  317. Domestic Political Process
  318.  
  319. There are several works that allow us to have a glimpse on the internal dynamics of the North Korean political process. Paik 2004 discusses a broad picture of North Korean political process shedding light on the leadership structure, mass mobilization, and the nature of the system. Lee 2003 argues that the succession of Kim Jong-Il as the new leader took place in the process of organizing the entire North Korean political establishment along the theme of unity and cohesion. Han 2009 notes the incentive structure of the North Korean regime is such that conservative power elite members continue to support the status quo. Kim 2009 discusses the most recent Chollima Movement in 2009 as part of the mass mobilization under the catchphrase of “a Strong and Prosperous Nation.” Ahn 1999 and Chang 2010 examine the significance of the constitutional revisions in 1998 and 2009 respectively and show how these revisions were meant to further consolidate the Kim Jong-Il system. Kim 1998 and Kim 2000 are writings of Kim Jong-Il that show how North Korea responded to the collapse of other socialist countries. They emphasize a unique North Korean redefinition of socialism through Juche and the propaganda of a Strong and Prosperous Nation.
  320.  
  321. Ahn Yinhay. “Kim Ilsung hunbub gwa kim Jongil cheje” Journal of Korean Political Science Association 32 (1999): 207–221.
  322. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  323. “Kim Il-Sung constitution and Kim Jung-Il system.” Analyzes the highlights of the 1998 constitution in conjunction with the consolidation process of the Kim Jong-Il regime after the death of Kim Il-Sung.
  324. Find this resource:
  325. Chang Myung-Bong. “Bukhan ui 2009 hunbub gaechung gwa sungun chungchi ui jedojuk gongowha.” Constitutional Studies 16 (2010): 341–377.
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  327. “The 2009 amendment of the North Korean Socialist Constitution and institutional consolidation of the Songun politics.” Discusses the background and significance of the 2009 constitutional revision. The 2009 revision declared the Military First (Songun) as North Korea’s official ideology along with the Juche and provided the National Defense Commission (NDC) and its Chairman Kim Jong-Il with greater authority in North Korea.
  328. Find this resource:
  329. Han Byung-Jin. “Bukhan chungkwon ui naegusung e daehan ironjuk gochal.” National Strategy 15 (2009): 119–141.
  330. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  331. “A theory of regime durability in North Korea.” Asks why the North Korean regime has been so durable despite the many challenges it has faced. Argues Kim Il-Sung has built the kind of party-state system that a coalition of conservative power elite would be incentivized to continue their reliance on and the allegiance to the dictator and the regime.
  332. Find this resource:
  333. Kim Bo-Geun. “Bukhan ui 2009 chonrima undong gwa gangsung daekuk jeonryak.” Korean Unification Policy Studies 18 (2009): 89–117.
  334. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  335. “North Korea’s 2009 Chonllima Movement and the strategy of ‘strong and prosperous nation’.” Explains the significance of the 2009 Chollima Movement. Kim Jong-Il promoted the movement as a means by which North Korea would become a “Strong and Prosperous Nation.”
  336. Find this resource:
  337. Kim Jong-Il. “Saheo juui nun kwahak ida” In Kim Jong Il Sonjib 13. By Kim Jong-Il. Pyongyang, North Korea: Choson Nodongdang, 1998.
  338. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  339. “Socialism is science.” After the end of the Cold War, one of the representative treatises in which North Korea attempted to redefine and interpret socialism in the North Korean Juche way. Originally published in Nodong Sinmun on 1 November 1994, it marked the first treatise announced since the death of Kim Il-Sung.
  340. Find this resource:
  341. Kim Jong-Il. “Olhae rul gangsung daeguk gunseol ui widaehan jeonwhan ui hae ro bitnaeija.” In Kim Jong-Il Sonjib 14. By Kim Jong-Il. Pyongyang, North Korea: Choson Nodongdang, 2000.
  342. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  343. “Let us make this year the year of great transformation to build strong and prosperous nation.” Beginning 1 January 1999, Kim Jong-Il began encouraging North Korean people to actively strive toward building a “Strong and Prosperous Nation.”
  344. Find this resource:
  345. Lee, Tae-Seop. “Kim Jung-Il Hugyecheje ui hwangnip gwa ‘dangyul ui chungchi.’” North Korean Studies Review 6 (2003): 11–51.
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  347. “The establishment of Kim Jong-Il’s succession system and the ‘politics of cohesion.’” Explains how Kim Jong-Il’s succession process involved the organization of the entire North Korean politics and society on the core spirit of unity and cohesion.
  348. Find this resource:
  349. Paik, Hak-Soon, Hyun-su Chun, Charles Armstrong. Bukhan hyundaesa. Paju, South Korea: Hanul, 2004.
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  351. “The modern history of North Korea.” An edited volume on North Korea’s modern history. Chapters discuss the topics of the party-state, economy, changes in the Workers’ Party, education reform, North Korean literature and Socialist realism, and national security, labor issues, and militarization.
  352. Find this resource:
  353. Political Economy
  354.  
  355. Koo 1992 offers a review of North Korea’s Juche (self-reliance) ideology in the field of political economy. Another thread of North Korean political economy literature published in 2000s offers some analysis of North Korea’s bankrupt national economy (Eberstadt 2007). Haggard and Noland 2007 shows how such dire economic situation and the great famine has brought about some changes in the country’s political economy. While Haggard and Noland 2007 advocates the political origin of North Korean famine, Cumings 2002 argues that the root cause had to do with ecological disruptions.
  356.  
  357. Cumings, Meredith Woo. “The Political Ecology of Famine: The North Korean Catastrophe and Its Lessons.” ADB Institute Research Paper 31 (2002).
  358. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  359. A policy paper that disputes the political origin of North Korean famine and puts forward an argument that the root causes laid in ecological disruptions and the decline of food availability.
  360. Find this resource:
  361. Eberstadt, Nicholas. The North Korean Economy: Between Crisis and Catastrophe. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 2007.
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  363. A systematic treatment of what the author calls “a political economy of bankruptcy” of North Korea in the post–Cold War period. Argues that with the cessation of Soviet aid in the 1990s, Pyongyang has decided to finance its ailing state through extortion from the outside world instead of committing itself to economic reform.
  364. Find this resource:
  365. Haggard, Stephan, and Marcus Noland. Famine in North Korea: Markets, Aid, and Reform. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007.
  366. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  367. A seminal work on the topic of post–Cold War political economy of the great famine in North Korea. Argues the great famine in the 1990s originated from the nature of its political and economic system. Systematically examines its consequences including bottom-up marketization, the politics of aid, and other reform efforts.
  368. Find this resource:
  369. Koo, Bon-Hak. Political Economy of Self-Reliance: Juche and Economic Development in North Korea, 1961–1990. Seoul, South Korea: Research Center for Peace and Unification of Korea, 1992.
  370. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  371. Provides an overview of North Korea’s economic policies during the Cold War period through the lens of the Juche ideology, especially its postwar emphasis on heavy-chemistry industries and its relation to the prospect for North Korean economic reform.
  372. Find this resource:
  373. Economic Reforms
  374.  
  375. The literature on North Korean economic reforms has received a great deal of attention in recent years since Pyongyang embarked on a series of small economic reform measures in the 1980s through the 2000s. They included the 1984 Law of the Management of Joint Ventures, the 1991 Special Economic Zones policy, and the 2002 Economic Improvement Measures. Petro 2009 offers an overview of inter-Korean cooperation under South Korea’s Sunshine Policy. Although there is an optimistic view that North Korea’s moves toward these measures signaled the beginning of more comprehensive economic reforms (Park 2009), a majority of works recognized that they were limited due to the nature of political system in North Korea (Cha 2004, Kim 2009, Noland 2000). Lee 2001 is a useful source on the topic of North Korean economic demise. Haggard and Noland 2011 depicts the North Korean economy based on defector testimonies including the state-sanctioned illicit economy. Chestnut 2007 focuses on Pyongyang’s involvement in illicit activities.
  376.  
  377. Cha, Victor. North Korea’s Economic Reforms and Security Intentions. Testimony Before the United States Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, 2 March 2004.
  378. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  379. Expert testimony before the US House of Representatives that outlines the economic reforms of 2002 and why they would not work.
  380. Find this resource:
  381. Chestnut, Sheena. “Illicit Activity and Proliferation: North Korean Smuggling Networks.” International Security 32 (2007): 80–111.
  382. DOI: 10.1162/isec.2007.32.1.80Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  383. One of the first and most detailed scholarly accounts of North Korea’s illicit economic activity in counterfeiting and drug trafficking.
  384. Find this resource:
  385. Haggard, Stephan, and Marcus Noland. Witness to Transformation: Refugee Insights into North Korea. Washington, DC: Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2011.
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  387. The authors use a wealth of defector testimony to paint a revealing picture of the North Korean economy. Very useful insights on the formal economy, the informal economy (black markets), and the state-sanctioned illicit economy.
  388. Find this resource:
  389. Kim, Yong-Soo. “The Political Economy of Economic Reform.” Australian Journal of International Affairs 63.4 (2009): 529–549.
  390. DOI: 10.1080/10357710903312587Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  391. A succinct and useful overview of North Korean political economy since the 1990s. Addresses the question of why North Korea has been unable to make a full commitment to economic reforms and makes an argument that an answer can be found in North Korea’s monolithic system.
  392. Find this resource:
  393. Lee, Hy-Sang. North Korea: A Strange Socialist Fortress. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001.
  394. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  395. One of the more readable and informative accounts of the political economy of North Korea’s economic demise.
  396. Find this resource:
  397. Noland, Marcus. Avoiding the Apocalypse: The Future of the Two Koreas. Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics, 2000.
  398. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  399. Offers policy-relevant discussion on the future of the Korean peninsula. Begins with a comparison of the two economies of North and South Koreas. Discusses three possible scenarios of the economic future of the two Koreas: Pyongyang’s economic reform, North Korea’s collapse, and South Korea’s absorption and the in-between scenarios of “muddling through.”
  400. Find this resource:
  401. Park, Phillip H., ed. The Dynamics of Change in North Korea: An Institutionalist Perspective. Seoul, South Korea: Institute for Far Eastern Studies, Kyungnam University, 2009.
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  403. Represents an optimistic view of the prospect for North Korea’s economic reforms. Challenging the pessimistic view, the edited volume focuses on institutional changes that the North has introduced toward decentralization, marketization, and legal transformations.
  404. Find this resource:
  405. Petro, Leonid A. “The Politics of Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation: 1998–2009.” Asia-Pacific Journal 29 (2009).
  406. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  407. From a liberal perspective, the article offers a brief overview of the history, background, and politics of economic cooperation between the two Koreas under the Sunshine Policy.
  408. Find this resource:
  409. Foreign Relations
  410.  
  411. Koh 1984 and Park, et al. 1987 provide a good overview of North Korean foreign relations. Park 2000 helps us understand North Korea’s foreign policy behavior by examining how North Korea perceives the world. Yoo 1995 is a useful source for those who are interested in North Korean foreign policy decision-making process. There are some good scholarly works that analyze how North Korea has responded to the end of the Cold War. Kim 1998 is a comprehensive treatment of changes and continuities of North Korean foreign policy since the demise of the Soviet Union. Park 2010 is a collection of interesting essays that highlight various issues that are pertinent to North Korea’s relations with the outside world. Kim 2011 focuses on explaining the sources of North Korea’s provocative behavior based on the two themes of security dilemma and succession.
  412.  
  413. Kim, Samuel, ed. North Korean Foreign Relations in the Post–Cold War Era. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
  414. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  415. Addresses North Korean foreign policy behavior in the post–Cold War era examining causes of the changes and continuities.
  416. Find this resource:
  417. Kim, Yong-Ho. North Korean Foreign Policy: Security Dilemma and Succession. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. 2011.
  418. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  419. Explains North Korea’s provocative behavior with particular references to the security dilemma and the succession. Understands North Korea’s nuclear development program as coming from fear.
  420. Find this resource:
  421. Koh, Byung-chul. The Foreign Policy Systems of North and South Korea. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1984.
  422. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  423. A classic, teachable text on Cold War foreign relations and decision-making apparatus of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
  424. Find this resource:
  425. Park, Han S. “North Korean Perceptions of Self and Others: Implications for Policy Choices.” Pacific Affairs 73.4 (2000): 503–516.
  426. DOI: 10.2307/2672441Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  427. Focuses on the factors that shape North Korean perceptions of reality. Argues that in order to better understand North Korean behavior, one should understand North Korean policymakers’ perceptions about the world before assuming North Korea as an irrational or unpredictable actor.
  428. Find this resource:
  429. Park, Kyung-Ae, ed. New Challenges of North Korean Foreign Policy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
  430. DOI: 10.1057/9780230113978Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  431. A collection of interesting essays by some of the most well-known North Korea experts in North America and Europe. Topics covered include ideology, refugees, food shortages, nuclear weapons, and relations with the United States and with China.
  432. Find this resource:
  433. Park, Jae Kyu, Byung Chul Koh, and Tae-Hwan Kwak, eds. The Foreign Relations of North Korea: New Perspectives. Boulder, CO; and Seoul, South Korea: Westview, 1987.
  434. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  435. Provides an analytical framework with which Pyongyang’s foreign policy can be understood systematically. An edited volume that brings together leading experts on North Korea to discuss various areas of North Korean foreign policy.
  436. Find this resource:
  437. Yoo, Ho-Yeol. “Bukhan oegyo chungchak ui gyulchung gujo wa gwachung.” Korean Journal of International Relations 34 (1995): 119–127.
  438. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  439. “North Korea’s foreign policy decisionmaking: Structure and process.” A very useful account of North Korea’s foreign policy decision-making structure and process. Written just after the death of Kim Il-Sung, but is still a good guide in understanding the basic structure of North Korea’s foreign policy establishment.
  440. Find this resource:
  441. Relations with Four Major Powers
  442.  
  443. Kim and Lee 2002 and Koh 2004 provide a good overview of North Korea’s relations with its four great powers, the United States, China, Japan, and Russia. North Korea’s traditional strategic relations with the Soviet Union and China during the Cold War and its tailoring of Marxism-Leninism to “conditions in North Korea” are important themes of the early literature on North Korean foreign relations. Kiyosaki 1976 and Chung 1978 depict how North Korea skillfully handled the Sino-Soviet split. More recently, Snyder 2009 addresses Pyongyang’s relations with Beijing in the post–Cold War international environment. Lee 2006 focuses on the relations between the two Koreas and the United States and offers good illustrations of recent events. Park 2005 is an interesting analysis that shows diverging national interests of North Korea’s surrounding great powers when negotiating at the Six-Party Talks.
  444.  
  445. Chung, Chin O. Pyongyang Between Peking and Moscow: North Korea’s Involvement in the Sino-Soviet Dispute, 1958–1975. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1978.
  446. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  447. One of the most important works on North Korean behavior during the Sino-Soviet dispute. Details Pyongyang’s neutrality between 1960 and 1961, its leaning toward Peking and then toward Moscow after Khrushchev’s fall.
  448. Find this resource:
  449. Kim, Samuel, and Tai Hwan Lee, eds. North Korea and Northeast Asia. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002.
  450. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  451. Situates North Korea in the context of Northeast Asian geopolitics and examines Pyongyang’s respective relations with Washington, DC; Tokyo; Beijing; and Moscow. Assesses the North Korean threat while offering Pyongyang’s survival strategies.
  452. Find this resource:
  453. Kiyosaki, Wayne S. North Korea’s Foreign Relations: The Politics of Accommodation, 1945–75. New York and London: Praeger, 1976.
  454. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  455. Focusing on the period between 1945 and 1975, Kiyosaki examines the role of the great powers in the shaping of Pyongyang’s foreign policy behavior. Offers broad outlines of how Pyongyang accommodated to external foreign pressures in ways it saw fit to the North Korean internal conditions.
  456. Find this resource:
  457. Koh, Byung Chul. North Korea and the World: Explaining Pyongyang’s Foreign Policy. Seoul, South Korea: Kyungnam University Press, 2004.
  458. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  459. An edited volume written by internationally recognized experts on North Korea touching upon Pyongyang’s foreign policy overview, nuclear issue, relations with the United States, Japan, China, Russia, and South Korea. Useful for those who seek to have a comprehensive understanding of North Korea’s foreign relations in the post–Cold War era.
  460. Find this resource:
  461. Lee, Chae-Jin. A Troubled Peace: U.S. Policy and the Two Koreas. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.
  462. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  463. Illuminates the contours of relations between the United States and the two Koreas in a comprehensive and informative manner.
  464. Find this resource:
  465. Park, John. “Inside Multilateralism: The Six Party Talks.” Washington Quarterly 28 (2005): 75–91.
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  467. Shows how the interests and policy priorities of North Korea’s counterparts in the Six-Party Talks––the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, and Russia––diverge when they negotiated for the denuclearization of North Korea.
  468. Find this resource:
  469. Snyder, Scott. China’s Rise and the Two Koreas: Politics, Economics, Security. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2009.
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  471. One of the few works on North Korea–China relations. Examines the interplay between economic interdependence and political influence in the context of China’s rise and its impact on the balance of power between Seoul and Pyongyang.
  472. Find this resource:
  473. Views in China, Japan, and Russia
  474.  
  475. Lee 2008 explains that the US forces in Korea and the issue of reunification are the two issues that are at stake in China–North Korea relations. Han 2005 provides a good analysis on Chinese strategic interests toward the Six-Party Talks. Ji 2001 counters the conventional wisdom of traditionally close ties between Beijing and Pyongyang by arguing that they share little in common in terms of their national interests, while Scobell 2004 argues that Chinese influence over North Korea is not as great as many tend to assume. Hagstrom and Soderberg 2006 is a special issue on Japan–North Korea relations in Pacific Affairs. Johnston 2004 and Kang and Lee 2009 discuss the two top priorities of Japan’s North Korea policy, the abduction issue and the resolution of Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile development programs respectively. Buszynski 2009 discusses the nature of Russian national interests vis-à-vis North Korea.
  476.  
  477. Buszynski, Leszek. “Russia and North Korea: Dilemmas and Interests.” Asian Survey 49.5 (2009): 809–830.
  478. DOI: 10.1525/as.2009.49.5.809Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  479. Analyzes Russia’s strategic interests toward North Korea: denuclearization and the influence on the Korean peninsula in order to counter Japan and the United States.
  480. Find this resource:
  481. Hagstrom, Linus, and Marie Soderberg, eds. Special Issue: The Other Binary: Why Japan-North Korea Relations Matter. Pacific Affairs 79 (2006): 373–508.
  482. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  483. A special issue on Japan–North Korea relations. Followed by the introduction of the guest editors on the topic of taking Tokyo-Pyongyang relations seriously, five authors address various issues, including Japan’s foreign aid to North Korea, television and public opinion in Japan’s North Korea policy, the Six-Party Talks, and Japan’s sanctions toward Pyongyang.
  484. Find this resource:
  485. Han, Suk-Hee. “Ukja hoedam gwa chungguk ui dilemma.” Korean Journal of International Relations 45 (2005): 175–200.
  486. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  487. “Six Party Talks and China’s diplomatic dilemma.” Published in 2005, the article offers a helpful account of China’s strategy toward the Six-Party Talks.
  488. Find this resource:
  489. Ji, You. “China and North Korea: A Fragile Relationship of Strategic Convenience.” Journal of Contemporary China 10 (2001): 387–398.
  490. DOI: 10.1080/10670560120067090Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  491. Argues that Beijing and Pyongyang, despite the commonly held view of close bilateral ties, hardly share common interests.
  492. Find this resource:
  493. Johnston, Eric. “The North Korea Abduction Issue and Its Effect on Japanese Domestic Politics.” JPRI Working Paper 101. Oakland, CA: Japan Policy Research Institute, 2004.
  494. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  495. Provides an account of the politics surrounding the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. The issue has become one of the biggest hurdles for normalization of their diplomatic relations.
  496. Find this resource:
  497. Kang, David, and Ji-Young Lee. “Pyongyang’s Belligerence Dominates.” Comparative Connections 11 (July 2009).
  498. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  499. A quarterly analysis that illustrates one of the lowest points in Japan–North Korea relations in recent years. Shows how Japan reacted to North Korea’s long-range missile launch and the second nuclear test in 2009 in the context of Tokyo-Pyongyang-Seoul relations.
  500. Find this resource:
  501. Lee, Sang-Sook. “Detant sigi bukchung kwangye ui bidaeching galdung gwa gu yonghyang.” Journal of Korean Political Science Association 42 (2008): 439–456.
  502. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  503. “A research on the asymmetric conflicts of Sino-Korean relations in détente era.” Analyzes the asymmetric relationship and bilateral discord in the 1970s between China and North Korea centering on the two issues: the US forces in Korea and the issue of reunification.
  504. Find this resource:
  505. Scobell, Andrew. “China and North Korea: From Comrades-in-Arms to Allies at Arm’s Length.” Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, 2004.
  506. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  507. Argues that Chinese influence over North Korean behavior is more limited than many assume.
  508. Find this resource:
  509. Inter-Korean Relations and Unification
  510.  
  511. There are a good number of works that cover inter-Korean relations and unification. Kim 2000 is important because it shows Kim Jong-Il’s thinking about the question of Korean unification. Clough 1987 offers a big picture explanation on the topic of inter-Korean relations. Barnds 1976 is useful to understand the discourse on Korean reunification after the Seoul-Pyongyang détente in the 1970s, while Kihl 1994 focuses on the post–Cold War dynamics on the topic. Eberstadt and Ellings 2001 discusses the security relations of the Korean peninsula in the larger international politics context, while Kim 2007 focuses on the security dilemma of the Korean peninsula. Bleiker 2005 suggests unconventional approaches in order to overcome the division of the two Koreas. Moon 2012 is an in-depth look into the Sunshine Policy, South Korea’s engagement strategy toward Pyongyang.
  512.  
  513. Barnds, William, ed. The Two Koreas in East Asian Affairs. New York: New York University Press, 1976.
  514. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  515. Places the two Koreas in the broader context of the Cold War politics during the 1970s. Although published decades ago, useful to see the academic discourse on Korean unification just after the détente.
  516. Find this resource:
  517. Bleiker, Roland. Divided Korea: Toward a Culture of Reconciliation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005.
  518. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  519. Depicts the security problem of the Korean peninsula from an angle that emphasizes the relationship between security dilemma and identity. Not heavily scholarly, readers who seek a different perspective than security studies specialists’ accounts may find it intriguing.
  520. Find this resource:
  521. Clough, Ralph Nelson. Embattled Korea: The Rivalry for International Support. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1987.
  522. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  523. A broad overview of the international rivalry between Seoul and Pyongyang. Useful for those who want to see the big picture of the North-South relations before getting into an in-depth research of a particular theme or a period.
  524. Find this resource:
  525. Eberstadt, Nicholas, and Richard Ellings, eds. Korea’s Future and the Great Powers. Seattle and London: National Bureau of Asian Research and University of Washington Press, 2001.
  526. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  527. A project by the National Bureau of Asian Research designed to examine strategic circumstances on the Korean peninsula. Discusses unification of the two Koreas in the context of the post–Cold War geopolitics in Asia.
  528. Find this resource:
  529. Kihl, Young Whan, ed. Korea and the World: Beyond the Cold War. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1994.
  530. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  531. Situates the two Koreas in the broader context of world politics. Discusses the question of unification after the end of the Cold War. Published in early 1990s, useful in understanding the dynamics of inter-Korean relations.
  532. Find this resource:
  533. Kim Jong-Il. “Widaehan suryong Kimilsung dongji ui jokuk tongil yuhun ul chuljeohi gosu haja” In Kim Jong-Il Sonjib 14. By Kim Jong-Il. Pyongyang, North Korea: Choson Nodongdang. 2000.
  534. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  535. “Let us abide by comrade Kim Il-Sung’s injunctions.” One of the most important works on Kim Jong-Il’s thoughts on the issue of Korean reunification originally announced on 4 August 1997.
  536. Find this resource:
  537. Kim, Jungsup. International Politics and Security in Korea. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2007.
  538. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  539. Provides a useful overview of the major events of inter-Korean relations between the years 1988 and 1997. Argues that the continuing tension on the Korean peninsula had to do with the security dilemma and the domestic politics of South Korea.
  540. Find this resource:
  541. Moon, Chung-in. The Sunshine Policy: In Defense of Engagement as a Path to Peace in Korea. Seoul, South Korea: Yonsei University Press, 2012.
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  543. Written by one of the architects of South Korea’s Sunshine Policy, the book provides an in-depth analysis of the engagement strategy and argues that Seoul should return to the Sunshine Policy.
  544. Find this resource:
  545. Nuclear Issue
  546.  
  547. There is a vast literature on North Korea’s nuclear development program exploring North Korean motivations, the evolution of crises, and the processes of international negotiations offered by Korea experts from both academia (Cha and Kang 2003) and policy circles. Cha and Kang 2003 is a landmark work setting the tone for US debates on North Korea policy as the two authors come to represent two competing arguments, commonly known as hawkish and dovish, to explain North Korean behavior. Cha 2002 approaches the debate from a hawkish side. Sigal 1998 contributed to the debate by making a convincing case for engagement with North Korea. Funabashi 2007 and Pritchard 2007 approaches the issue in terms of failed diplomacy. O’Hanlon and Mochizuki 2003 offers the idea of “grand bargain” to address the nuclear issue. Bader 2012 offers an insightful account on the Obama administration’s North Korea policy. Mostly policy-relevant in nature, these works offer excellent analyses as to how to better handle the threats from the North Korean nuclear development program. Due to the nature of the problem, most works are not about North Korea per se but are more about how to respond to North Korea.
  548.  
  549. Bader, Jeffrey A. Obama and China’s Rise: An Insider’s Account of America’s Asia Strategy. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2012.
  550. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  551. Although the title of the book emphasizes otherwise, this book contains interesting chapters on the Obama administration’s North Korea policy and their evolution of thinking regarding how to deal with Pyongyang’s burgeoning nuclear weapons program.
  552. Find this resource:
  553. Cha, Victor D. “Korea’s Place in the Axis” Foreign Affairs 81 (2002): 79–92.
  554. DOI: 10.2307/20033164Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  555. Influential article as cited by the New York Times that introduces the concept of “hawk engagement” strategy, suggesting that inducements to the North constitute investments in future sources of leverage over Pyongyang, if negotiations fail. The author later worked in the White House on North Korea policy.
  556. Find this resource:
  557. Cha, Victor D., and David C. Kang. Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Engagement Strategies. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003.
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  559. The most widely-read, authoritative book on the issue in a style of debate between two international relations scholars who take different, if not opposing, approaches. Useful for college classes for theory as well as policy. Contributed to setting the tone of the public policy debate over Pyongyang in the United States.
  560. Find this resource:
  561. Funabashi, Yoichi. The Peninsula Question: A Chronicle of the Second Korean Nuclear Crisis. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2007.
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  563. Written by one of Japan’s most respected journalists, this book details Japan and other regional powers’ diplomacy in the Six-Party Talks, and the failure in 2002 of the first US–North Korea denuclearization agreement.
  564. Find this resource:
  565. O’Hanlon, Michael, and Mike Mochizuki. Crisis on the Korean Peninsula: How to Deal with a Nuclear North Korea. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003.
  566. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  567. Published in 2003, the authors propose a “grand bargain” that entails conventional arms reductions on the peninsula and economic assistance to North Korea.
  568. Find this resource:
  569. Pritchard, Charles J. Failed Diplomacy: The Tragic Story of How North Korea Got the Bomb. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2007.
  570. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  571. Written by the former Senior Envoy for North Korea, the author gives a unforgiving insider’s account of US diplomacy and North Korea’s nuclear weapons development.
  572. Find this resource:
  573. Sigal, Leon V. Disarming Strangers: Nuclear Diplomacy with North Korea. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998.
  574. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  575. One of the most detailed treatments of the first North Korean nuclear crisis. Represents an engagement-oriented approach toward North Korea’s nuclear issue, which faults the United States’ inability to read tit-for-tat diplomatic signals from the North.
  576. Find this resource:
  577. Negotiating with the North
  578.  
  579. Of the policy-relevant works on the theme of the North Korean nuclear issue, Chinoy 2008 and Wit, et al. 2004 focus on the international negotiations designed to denuclearize Pyongyang. Snyder 1999 analyzes uniquely North Korean ways of negotiations by tracing its history.
  580.  
  581. Chinoy, Mike. Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis. New York: St. Martin’s, 2008.
  582. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  583. A detailed account, based on primary source interviews, of the Six-Party Talks. Looks at the individuals involved in the negotiations during the George W. Bush administration.
  584. Find this resource:
  585. Snyder, Scott. Negotiating on the Edge: North Korean Negotiating Behavior. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1999.
  586. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  587. Seeks to understand North Korean negotiation styles through the lens of unique North Korean culture. Based on interviews with US officials who were engaged with negotiating with North Korean counterparts between 1992 and 1997, Snyder offers some patterns of North Korean negotiation style.
  588. Find this resource:
  589. Wit, Joel, Daniel Poneman, and Robert Gallucci. Going Critical: The First North Korean Nuclear Crisis. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2004.
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  591. Written by three principals in the negotiations leading to the 1994 Agreed Framework. Provides detailed illustrations of the United States decision-making and negotiations with North Koreans and its allies after the first North Korean nuclear crisis.
  592. Find this resource:
  593. Humanitarian Issues
  594.  
  595. As North Korea has become one of the world’s largest recipients of international aid, the literature that explores the politics of aid in the North Korean context has been growing in recent years (Natsios 2001, Schloms 2004). Haggard and Nolan 2011 make a systemic use of refugee accounts to provide a social scientific description of humanitarian concerns that defectors face after fleeing North Korea. Flake and Snyder 2003 provides an understanding on nongovernmental organizations operating within North Korea. Smith 2005 emphasizes the importance of employing a humanitarian perspective toward North Korea as opposed to a statist approach.
  596.  
  597. Flake, L. Gordon, and Scott Snyder. Paved with Good Intentions: The NGO Experience in North Korea. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003.
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  599. The only collection of essays on the experience of nongovernmental organizations operating in North Korea. The work looks at American, European, and South Korean experiences doing humanitarian work in the North.
  600. Find this resource:
  601. Haggard, Stephan, and Marcus Noland. Witness to Transformation: Refugee Insights into North Korea. Washington, DC: Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2011.
  602. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  603. One of the pioneering works that uses the survey data of North Korean refugees systematically. Focuses on lives of refugees themselves, including their personal trauma and vulnerability, and their observation of inner workings of North Korea such as inequality, popular dissatisfaction, and corruption.
  604. Find this resource:
  605. Natsios, Andrew S. The Great North Korean Famine. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2001.
  606. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  607. The author’s own involvement in the internationalization of North Korean famine as part of a nongovernmental organization provides illustrations of the events based on his experiences. Raises a difficult question of balancing morality and efficiency against specific political and geostrategic interests.
  608. Find this resource:
  609. Schloms, Michael. North Korea and the Timeless Dilemma of Aid: A Study of Humanitarian Action in Famines. Münster, Germany: LIT, 2004.
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  611. Casts light on the moral dilemma of humanitarian assistance, namely whether and how humanitarian aid actually reaches the population in need in the North Korean context.
  612. Find this resource:
  613. Smith, Hazel. Hungry for Peace: International Security, Humanitarian Assistance, and Social Change in North Korea. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2005.
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  615. Approaches “the North Korean problem” from an angle of human security and presents the view that North Korea is knowable and can be better understood when looking at it through a humanitarian perspective rather than a statist view.
  616. Find this resource:
  617. Leadership Succession, Contingency, and Unification
  618.  
  619. Understandably, while there are only few works that examine North Korea’s future succession, Snyder 2010 and Center for U.S.-Korea Policy 2009 are a good start for anyone who wants to grasp a basic understanding of contingency plans. Lind and Bruce 2011 is a more technical, detailed analysis on the topic. Pollack and Lee 1999 lays out some of the basic considerations on the question of unification while Cha and Kang 2011 offers a timely analysis on key issues regarding the two Koreas’ integration over the long-term. These papers are designed to inform policy debates rather than scholarly in nature. On the death of Kim Jong-Il and the succession of Kim Jung-Un as North Korea’s top leader, Lankov 2012 argues that North Korea is not likely to go through rapid changes in the short term. Although written prior to the death of Kim Jong-Il, Lee 2010 and Koh 2010 explain the logics of the dynamics of North Korean succession process.
  620.  
  621. Center for U.S.-Korea Policy. North Korean Contingency Planning and U.S.-ROK Cooperation. Washington, DC: Asia Foundation, 2009.
  622. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  623. A policy paper that examines the North Korean contingency question. Discusses possible scenarios on the peninsula as well as likely responses from the surrounding powers.
  624. Find this resource:
  625. Cha, Victor, and David Kang. Challenges for Korean Unification Planning: Justice, Markets, Health, Refugees and Civil-Military Transitions. Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2011.
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  627. The most recent and timely study of the key issues relating to integration of the two Koreas over the long term. The report is based on two years of research involving some of the world’s foremost experts on functional issues including migration, transitional justice, social security, health, and economic planning.
  628. Find this resource:
  629. Koh, Yu-Hwan. “Kim Jungun hugye guchuk nonri wa jinghu.” Korea Journal of Unification Affairs 22 (2010): 93–122.
  630. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  631. “The logics and indications of Kim Jong-Un’s sucession in North Korea.” A good account on the politics of succession process for North Korea’s third leader, Kim Jong-Un. Argues that the role of the party is likely to grow vis-à-vis the military. The new leader may rely on the charisma of Kim Il-Sung to enhance his authority. Written just before the death of Kim Jong-Il.
  632. Find this resource:
  633. Lankov, Andrei. “Kim Jong-Un’s North Korea: What Should We Expect?” International Journal of Korean Unification Studies 21 (2012): 1–19.
  634. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  635. Argues that North Korea under the new leader Kim Jong-Un would not go through any significant change in the short term but is likely to collapse in the long run.
  636. Find this resource:
  637. Lee Seung-Yeol. “Bukhan hugye cheje guchuk ui ‘se gaji gyuljung yoin’ e daehan bunseok- kyungro uijonsung ul jungsimuro.” North Korean Studies Review 14 (2010): 153–186.
  638. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  639. “Analysis on the three determinants of the succession system in North Korea-focusing on path-dependence.” Published in 2010 prior to the death of Kim Jong-Il, the author examines three factors that are likely to determine North Korea’s post–Kim Jong-Il succession: the legitimacy of the successor, the leadership system, and North Korean public support for the successor.
  640. Find this resource:
  641. Lind, Jennifer, and Bennett Bruce. “The Collapse of North Korea: Military Missions and Requirements.” International Security 36 (2011): 84–119.
  642. DOI: 10.1162/ISEC_a_00057Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  643. Describes a possible contingency situation on the peninsula from North Korean collapse and the military requirements to accomplish key missions of domestic stabilization, denuclearization, and border control. Draws from other cases like Iraq and Afghanistan, albeit imperfectly, to determine requirements for North Korea.
  644. Find this resource:
  645. Pollack, Jonathan, and Chung Min Lee. Preparing for Korean Unification: Scenarios and Implications. Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1999.
  646. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  647. One of the earlier treatments of Korean unification. Discusses North Korea’s internal contradictions and sheds light on possible scenarios for unification.
  648. Find this resource:
  649. Snyder, Scott. “Kim Jong-Il’s Successor Dilemmas.” Washington Quarterly 33 (2010): 35–46.
  650. DOI: 10.1080/01636600903418678Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  651. Published less than a year before Kim Jong-Il’s death, Snyder discusses three possible scenarios of leadership transition in North Korea and analyzes what each scenario would mean for the North Korean state and its neighbors.
  652. Find this resource:
  653. Society and Culture
  654.  
  655. There is a growing literature on North Korea culture and society in recent years due to the increasing number of accounts made available by North Korean refugees as shown in Demick 2009 and Hassig and Oh 2009. In particular, Kang 2005 and Harden 2012 address the question of North Korea’s human rights abuses. Myers 2010 and Frank 2011 deal with North Korean propaganda literature and arts. Lankov 2007 and Harrold 2004 hint at the question of social integration of people from both sides of the DMZ.
  656.  
  657. Demick, Barbara. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2009.
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  659. Award-winning work and one of the best-written refugee accounts. Based on in-depth interviews with a few refugees who escaped North Korea, Demick offers humanizing narratives to North Korean society and everyday life.
  660. Find this resource:
  661. Frank, Rudiger, ed. Exploring North Korean Arts. Papers from an international symposium at the MAK Vienna, 3–4 September 2010 in the context of the MAK exhibition “Flowers for Kim Il Sung,” 19 May–19 September 2010. Nuremberg, Germany: Moderne Kunst, 2011.
  662. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  663. An edited volume that studies North Korean politics, history, and society through an investigation of its propaganda art. A very interesting study.
  664. Find this resource:
  665. Harden, Blaine. Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West. New York: Viking Adult, 2012.
  666. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  667. A story of a man who survived North Korea’s prison camp and escaped to the West.
  668. Find this resource:
  669. Harrold, Michael. Comrades and Strangers: Behind the Closed Doors of North Korea. Chichester, UK: Wiley, 2004.
  670. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  671. A rare account of North Korean society and politics by the author who was an English language advisor on translations of the speeches for both Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il.
  672. Find this resource:
  673. Hassig, Ralph, and Kongdan Oh. The Hidden People of North Korea: Everyday Life in the Hermit Kingdom. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009.
  674. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  675. Based on refugee interviews, the authors show that there is an important gap between the official ideology and the beliefs of ordinary people. The work sheds light on defectors’ lives after leaving North Korea.
  676. Find this resource:
  677. Kang, Chol-hwan. The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag. New York: Basic Books, 2005.
  678. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  679. Arguably sparked international acknowledgment of the horrific conditions and human rights abuses in North Korea. Originally published in French in 2001. Singled out by George W. Bush as one of the most important books of his presidency. The author is now a writer for a conservative South Korean daily newspaper.
  680. Find this resource:
  681. Lankov, Andrei. North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2007.
  682. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  683. An interesting collection of short essays written by a Russian North Korea expert who has lived in North Korea during his study at the Kim Il Sung University in the 1980s.
  684. Find this resource:
  685. Myers, B. R. The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why It Matters. Brooklyn, NY: Melville House, 2010.
  686. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  687. One of the few books on North Korean identity and culture based on the analysis of domestic propaganda. Suggests a race-based worldview to be the most important part of North Korean official culture. A unique work.
  688. Find this resource:
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